Bagging Comics FAQ

[CharlieRock]

Okay so I finally getting around to bagging and boarding my old comics. Yay!
So now I'm wondering about these boards. I was using some old chipboard I had from somewhere. But then I got these ones that are specially made for comics (Silver Age sized to go with my silver age sized baggies). They advertise that one side is slick, "coated". Why? Why not both sides? Or no sides? Was the chipboard I used going to tear the comics up?

[OtherEric]

Not sure, exactly.  I'm pretty sure the key factor is the comic boards are acid-free, while the chipboard (not sure what that is, exactly) probably is not.  Otherwise, I don't think the smoother side makes a difference in protection but does make the book easier to get in and out of the bag. 

[bminor]

I have been in the graphic arts / printing industry for quite a while.

My advice would be to stay away from the chipboard.
Acid free would be the way to go.

Looking up in my paper catalog from my print shop I see that you can buy
Wausau Papers, White Exact Ice, 100 pound Cover stock, 100% acid free lignin free, smooth finish, 96 brightness, 1000 sheets for $35.50. That is 3.55¢ each. That is the price quoted from the paper supply warehouse in my town.
This is a nice thick white cove stock.
Paper is not cheap!
You should be able to pick up something comparable in your area.

b.

[CharlieRock]

Thanks for the fast replies. 

[paw broon]

Yes, stay away from chipboard.  I bag my comics using standard comic bags and coated backing boards but also use some Mylites for more valuable titles.  (By that I don't just mean valuable in cash terms but also in rarity and if I don't think I could find or afford a replacement).  I'm fortunate that I have a friend who has a comic shop and I get a discount. 
A close friend, the legendary and sadly missed Pete Root, with whom I had the privilege of running a comic shop years ago, told me that at my age, my comics would survive me so don't worry about it too much and use the cash for some decent wine.
I know I go on about non-American comics but it might be of interest that British and European comics come in all shapes and sizes and finding appropriately shaped bags can be a problem, especially if you only have a few of any given example and you can only buy the bags in 50's or 100's. It can become expensive.

[John C]

I know I go on about non-American comics but it might be of interest that British and European comics come in all shapes and sizes and finding appropriately shaped bags can be a problem, especially if you only have a few of any given example and you can only buy the bags in 50's or 100's. It can become expensive.

What about something like a vacuum sealer?  As long as you have the board sized, you should be able to keep the plastic from crushing the book, and the plastic rolls get cut and sealed to size.  It's been suggested to me a few times over the years, but with all the books identical and with right-sized bags already available, I always thought it was too work-intensive, but for what you describe, might be a better fit, so to speak.

(I'm assuming that food-safe implies acid-free, mind you, and the vacuuming doesn't rip pages apart, not that you need to suck all the air out, especially if you're just going to cut the bag back open to read.)

[paw broon]

A bloke who ran a bookshop in Glasgow a fair while ago, used heat sealed bags without boards for old American comics but the plastic was so flimsy it really didn't work.  As for vacuum sealing, I've never considered it.  Apart from anything else, I'd need the piece of kit.  But, when I say so many sizes and shapes, I mean it.  I'm looking at a shelf of European comics right now and I can see without getting out of my seat, 7 different landscape sizes. And pocket libraries vary both in height and width and thickness. E.g. Kriminal and Diabolik are narrower than most British pocket libraries and beeldromans are much smaller. Fortunately, both British and Euro sleeves and boards are available for these pocket comics and I do have a lot of them.
Here, many British comic dealers use bakers bags (you know, the ones for holding cakes, rolls etc.), which are white paper backs with cellophane fronts. I bought some old British titles at the weekend and they were bagged in bakers bags.  Not sure if they are neutral but I tend to change them as soon as I can.

[OtherEric]

It's not just UK books.  One thing I found hilarious was the first four hardcovers from DC/Vertigo's Fables series.  All 4 have distinctly different trim sizes.  (Admittedly, it was one OGN, one prose novel, one collection of covers, and one deluxe reprint collection.  Still funny.)

[Roygbiv666]

Without knowing dimensions, it's hard to say - couldn't you just buy the biggest size bags and use them for all.

As for food/freezer bags, that's how DC's Answer Man Bob Rozakis recommended storing comics in one of his columns - put multiple comics in one big bag, seal it up, fold over excess bag and voila. Don't know how/if acidic they are though, but I believe there are little ... baggies of something that are designed to neutralize acids.

I kept the majority of my comics growing up (in the 1970s) unbagged in long comic boxes in an attic that got quite hot in the summer. Except for the usual spine roll (which you can get around by putting stiff carboard between every 20-or-so comics, and very minor yellowing of the edges, they are all fine. Plus, when things get a little humid, you can smell the newsprint - mmm.

Interesting site here:
http://www.comicpreservation.com/
but seems very America focussed as opposed to the UK.

A bloke who ran a bookshop in Glasgow a fair while ago, used heat sealed bags without boards for old American comics but the plastic was so flimsy it really didn't work.  As for vacuum sealing, I've never considered it.  Apart from anything else, I'd need the piece of kit.  But, when I say so many sizes and shapes, I mean it.  I'm looking at a shelf of European comics right now and I can see without getting out of my seat, 7 different landscape sizes. And pocket libraries vary both in height and width and thickness. E.g. Kriminal and Diabolik are narrower than most British pocket libraries and beeldromans are much smaller. Fortunately, both British and Euro sleeves and boards are available for these pocket comics and I do have a lot of them.
Here, many British comic dealers use bakers bags (you know, the ones for holding cakes, rolls etc.), which are white paper backs with cellophane fronts. I bought some old British titles at the weekend and they were bagged in bakers bags.  Not sure if they are neutral but I tend to change them as soon as I can.

[paw broon]

Aye, you're right, I should just use the biggest bag and fold it around but I'm a bit fussy and like a nice fitting, unfolded bag.  Just me.  I actually enjoy bagging comics and I can listen to music or radio plays while getting it done.  But, the smell of newsprint, sort of vinegary, how evocative and pleasing and something you don't get with modern comics.
As for Rozakis and his opinion, many years ago, when DC started bagging comics in those flimsy, sealed bags, trying cynically to create a collectors market, a senior DC exec. (who shall remain nameless) told me that some collectors would keep the bags sealed and the plastic would rot or melt away in a year or two and could ruin the comic.
He was wrong, by the way.  I saw one of them in a shop recently and the original bag was a bit crinkly but intact.  Don't know what it was doing for the newsprint though.
Thanks for the link.

[John C]

The survival of the cheap plastic probably depends on how it's stored, too, amusingly.  I don't think I own any of the (two?) comics I bought like that, but I suspect if they'd been in a damp area and especially stored next to each other, some sort of mold would have eaten through by now.

But I do remember it being sort of funny how the "collectors editions" got churned out even though everybody at DC seemed to think it was a stupid idea.  Did someone owe a plastic bagging union a favor?

[CharlieRock]

New Question:
In some of the first bags I made I was using chipboard backing. Having replaced those with professional boarding sheets, is it okay to leave the index card in there with the comic? I was using an index card to write down what year, artist, writer, etc. a comic had for ease of reference. It is on the other side of the backboard so it doesn't block the cover art but easy to read once you flip the bag over.

P.S. Yes, this is a report from GAC 

[Astaldo711]

What about putting the cards in a small sealable bag? They come in all different sizes. They also have ones that don't seal but have a small flap you use to tuck them in. They're called sandwich bags or something like that.
I think the cardboard backing is slick on one side so the comic can be easily removed and not slick on the other so it stays in the bag when you take your book out.

[John C]

That, I don't know, but if nobody here can answer, check with your local library.  Usually, someone on staff has archival experience.

My thinking is that it's fine.  The acids they use in paper manufacture are (probably) in the paper itself, so as long as it's not touching what you want to protect, that should be most of it.  Outgassing shouldn't be too bad, either, since the card would still be pressed between the plastic and board.  Again, probably.

Roy's approach of just tossing it in another bag might work.  An idea along similar lines would be to get some archival-quality transparent tape (used to repair torn pages or photographs) and wrap the card.

[Yoc]

or write your info on a sticker and place it on the outside of the bag.